Suter Science Seminars
Monday, November 10, 2008
4 p.m., Science Center 104
On the Suffering of Vegetables (and Why It Matters)
Stephen Cessna, Ph.D.
Plants are continuously subject to numerous stresses, such as heat, drought, and the attacks of insects. Plants sense these stresses, integrate the incoming sensory data, and respond with highly-regulated morphological, physiological, and biochemical strategies that allow them to adapt to stress. The placticity of their response repertoire and the rate and degree to which they respond dictates their survival and persistence in the environment.
Often, however, strategies to overcome one form of stress make plants more susceptible to other stresses. Dr. Cessna will discuss his research on stress-activated biochemical signal transduction pathways involving reactive oxygen species, lipid metabolites, and calcium ions in plants, and on plant ecophysiology. He will discuss his findings in the greater contexts of human nutrition, Blue Ridge and Rocky Mountain forest ecology, and the biological and biblical functions of stress and suffering in nature.
About the Presenter
Stephen Cessna, Ph.D.
Stephen Cessna received his BA in chemistry and biochemistry in Colorado and then taught middle school math and science in Lesotho in southern Africa, with the Mennonite Central Committee, a relief and development organization of the Mennonite Churches. After returning to the US, getting married, and moving to Indiana, Steve eventually finished a PhD degree in biochemistry and molecular biology.
His graduate research included genetically altering tobacco plants so that they express a gene from a bioluminescent jellyfish. Cellular calcium concentrations could then be easily measured in these ‘glow-in-the-dark’ plants. Steve has continued that research project with EMU students, and has presented his work with EMU students at several regional and national scientific meetings, and has published with EMU student co-authors. Steve teaches biochemistry, chemistry, and botany courses.
He worked on a USDA-funded sabbatical research project for the ‘07-’08 academic year, studying plant responses to stress at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
